Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to chlorinators, and more particularly, to replaceable cell chlorinators having built-in sensors, switches, and custom connections.
Related Art
In the pool and spa field, it is important that water be adequately sanitized to prevent the growth of microorganisms, algae, etc. Adequate sanitization is important not only to protect the health and safety of bathers, but to also ensure proper water clarity in a pool or spa. A number of sanitization techniques have been implemented to sanitize pool/spa water, such as chemical additives (e.g., chlorine, bromine, etc.), introduction of ozone into pool/spa water, ultraviolet sanitization, etc.
Electrolytic cells (or, so-called “salt chlorinators”) represent one way of sanitizing a pool or spa. In this arrangement, an amount of salt (sodium chloride) is periodically added to pool or spa water (e.g., a few times per year), an electric charge is imparted on the electrolytic cell, and pool or spa water is pumped through the cell. Through electrolysis, the salt in the water is converted to free chlorine, which is subsequently pumped into the pool or spa to sanitize water. One advantage to this approach is a reduction in the amount of chemicals that need to periodically be added to pool or spa water, in contrast to conventional chemical chlorination techniques which require frequent addition of dry or liquid chemicals to the pool/spa (e.g., by way of powder, tablets, etc.) in order to sanitize same.
Existing salt chlorinators have separate temperature and/or flow sensors that necessitate additional wiring and connections. Further, the temperature and/or flow sensors are often separate from the replaceable chlorinator cartridges. As such, when a chlorinator cartridge is replaced, the same sensors are retained in the salt chlorinator system even though they may have exceeded their useful life. As a result, many chlorinator systems operate with old, faulty, or broken sensors.
The flow switches/sensors commonly used in salt chlorinators are unidirectional and must be mounted in the proper orientation in order to function. That is, these sensors can only detect fluid flowing in one direction, and therefore must be mounted so that the detection direction corresponds to the flow direction. When the flow sensor is mounted in any other orientation, it may either not function at all or provide inaccurate readings. Existing bi-directional flow switches/sensors are extremely expensive and often use technology that requires difficult calibration that cannot be performed by a layperson. As such, these flow sensors are usually limited to industrial applications.
Salt chlorinator systems that utilize replaceable chlorinator cartridges create a market for “knock-off” cell cartridges. This is primarily because a single chlorinator cartridge is designed for a single season of use, and therefore must be replaced at the beginning of each season. Knock-off cell cartridges not only have an economic impact, but can often create unsafe conditions. Specifically, only particular chlorinator cells should be used with specific chlorinator power supplies/controllers in order to ensure the safety of the system and the users. Standard connector systems allow knock-off companies to easily design cell cartridges to work with various chlorinators.
The present disclosure overcomes one or more of the drawbacks and/or disadvantages of the prior art discussed above.